Persistent Video Camera and Method of Operation

ABSTRACT

A camera reboots when a first timer expires but defers when a connection enables a server to reset the first timer. The system uses a visitor filtration apparatus to encode and store time-windows for expected visitors and generate optical credentials as visitor indicia and policies to greet, transform messages, and determine various access to visitors, both expected or unexpected. A video doorbell component of the system triggers on image or audio capture, transforms and verifies optically encoded credentials and actuates a physical access control actuator, triggers a visitor filtration apparatus, or relays images and audio with an interview panel. The optical credential is transmitted electronically to an expected visitor and may be printed or displayed from an electronic media.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation-in-part application of Ser.No. 16/186,659 Secure Video Doorbell Visitor Filtration System andMethod of Operation filed Nov. 12, 2018, benefits from its priority, andincorporates it by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK OR ASA TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB)

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINTINVENTOR

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The disclosure relates to video security systems and physical accesscontrol.

Background

As is known, conventional IP cameras inexplicitly go offlineoccasionally. Sometimes they recover without intervention, but it isknown that a reboot may be required to remediate the problem. Someconventional IP cameras require a fixed interval reboot cycle built-insuch as once a week even though it creates an unnecessary gap inrecording when a reboot was unnecessary. Another conventional solutionis to connect such a camera to a Power over Ethernet switch which can beremotely controlled to power cycle the camera but which requiresadditional cost and complexity. What is needed is a way to resolve theseoutages only when needed and without additional cost.

As is known wireless security cameras are combined with bidirectionalvoice telephony. As is known, voicemail, Short Messaging Service, andemail enable time-shifting electronic messaging.

What is needed is a solution for the problem of unnecessary gaps in therecording due to rebooting the cameras.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A camera self-resolves faults by rebooting when communication haslapsed. But recoverable intermittent failures enable delaying rebootupon reestablishing communication to a server which resets a failingstate. A video camera is configured to connect to a server and to rebootitself when the connection has been unrecoverable over a period of time.A server is configured to receive access to the camera and to delay thereboot process. The rebooting process is indefinitely delayed unless thecamera has a fault that prevents the reestablishment of the connectionprocess more than a selectable number of times or a length of time.

A video doorbell apparatus and electronic access control system operatesby determining a date-time when a video doorbell is actuated by arecognizable extemporaneous caller; a scheduled visitor/servicesprovider; or an unknown solicitor/stranger. In the latter case,providing an outgoing message, and from a date-time policy at least oneof the following, recording a message for delayed playback, connectingthe interview panel to the video doorbell immediately, relaying therecorded message on schedule or request from the interview panel, andtransmitting a notification, wherein an unknown solicitor/stranger isany party which neither a recognizable extemporaneous caller nor ascheduled visitor/services provider.

This includes receiving a credential presented to the video doorbell;verifying the credential is valid for the location of the video doorbelland the date-time is within a valid range; transmitting a notification;and playing an outgoing message/instruction. The method for determininga data-time when a video doorbell is actuated by a scheduledvisitor/services provider includes: generating a credential for avisitor/services provider to access a portal; determining a range ofdate-time for validity of the credential; distributing the credential toa communication device of the visitor/service provider; transforming thecredential and the range of valid date-time into a first encrypted code;distributing the first encrypted code to the portal.

A method at the video doorbell, includes receiving the first encryptedcode; receiving the credential from the communication device of thevisitor/service provider at a date-time, transforming the date-time ofreception and the credential into a second encrypted code, and matchingthe first encrypted code with the second encrypted code.

The method for responding to a category of recognizable extemporaneouscaller includes selecting among a store of policies for each categoryand date-time, presenting an outgoing message or greeting,communicatively coupling the video doorbell to one of an interview paneland a message store according to the selected policy, and responding toaccess control instructions at the interview panel.

A method for determining that a video doorbell is actuated by aRecognizable extemporaneous caller includes: determining a match withbiometric indicia in a store of friends/family/neighbors; determining amatch with image indicia of uniforms and badges of identification; anddetermining a match with stored shipping waybills and product barcodes.

A system enables a visitor filtration apparatus to encode and storetime-windows for expected visitors and generate time limited opticalcredentials as visitor indicia and policies to greet, transform messagesfrom, and determine various access to visitors both expected orunexpected.

The system includes at least a video doorbell (videoorbell) havingelectronic and audio communication circuits, a camera, and a processor.The system couples to an interview panel by which a visitee storesoutgoing messages, date-time windows, access policies, and visitorindicia and attends to incoming messages in delayed or real time.

A secure optically encoded credential such as a QR or a bar code istransmitted to an expected visitor with its date-time validity. Atransformed secure optically encoded credential is stored in a visitorfiltration apparatus or in a videoorbell.

Various policies provide for physical access control or electronicaccess by direct coupling or stored messages. Policies operate ondate-time of the visit, and visitor indicia which includes faces,voices, badges, uniforms, package delivery waybills, and combinationsthereof.

A video doorbell component of the system triggers on image or audiocapture, transforms and verifies optically encoded credentials andactuates a physical access control actuator, a visitor filtrationapparatus, or relays images and audio with an interview panel. Theoptical credential, e.g. QR code or bar code, is transmittedelectronically to an expected visitor and may be printed or displayedfrom an electronic media. Policies enable recognition of biometricallyenhanced images of faces or faces with uniform hats such as emergencyservices agents. Messages are stored for replay or transmittedimmediately.

The system may actuate a physical access control apparatus or couple thevideo doorbell directly to an interview panel of the visitee or of anintermediary, or present greetings or instructions and take audio-visualmessages. Voice to text circuits may override stored policies foremergency keywords, e.g. “Fire.”

In an embodiment, the system includes a visitor filtration apparatusperforming instructions to store outgoing and incoming messages, secureoptically encoded credentials, date-time policies and visitor indiciafor individuals or for classes such as police, fire, postal employees,delivery agents, utility workers, and complete strangers (none of theabove).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe disclosure will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system having a video doorbell, coupledto at least one interview panel, and in an embodiment, coupled to avisitor filtration apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of operation for a video doorbell.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of various non-limiting embodiments of methods foroperation of a visitor filtration apparatus communicatively coupled to avideo doorbell and to an interview panel

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a first visitor filtration apparatuscomponent of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of embodiments of a visitor filtrationapparatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a processor suitable for performance of themethod according to executable instructions stored in non-transientcomputer-readable media.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method embodiment of a persistent cameracomponent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Another aspect of the invention is a method to recover from intermittentfailures without producing unnecessary gaps in the surveillance record.A camera is configured with a process to communicate with a server whichregularly resets a rebooting process. The rebooting process completeswhen communication is interrupted beyond a limit. A plurality ofprocesses performed by processors executing in parallel includes at aserver, waiting for a camera to open a connection; when the camera isconnected, transmitting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT to camera; waitingPERIOD_B; determining whether camera remains connected; when camera haslost connection, wait for reconnection and send another TIME_TO_REBOOT;when camera remains connected, repeat waiting; wherein in embodiments,TIME_TO_REBOOT may be expressed as absolute Date-time, incrementaldate-time, day of week and time of day, units of time, calendar, numberof connection failures; at a camera, initializing a plurality ofparallel processes upon power cycle; a first parallel process includes:opening a connection to a server; receiving and storing an updatedTIME_TO_REBOOT from the server; determining whether camera remainsconnected; when camera has lost connection, attempt reconnection andgetting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT; when camera remains connected, waitingPERIOD_A; and then checking for connection; and a second parallelprocess comprising: reading TIME_TO_REBOOT from non-transitory store;determining whether TIME_TO_REBOOT has been exceeded by CURRENT_STATE;when CURRENT_STATE exceeds TIME_TO_REBOOT, rebooting the processes; whenCURRENT_STATE does not exceed TIME_TO_REBOOT, waiting PERIOD_C; andreturning to checking for excessive non-communication.

One use of a camera is in a video doorbell which has three general modesof operation. It may generally present greetings to a visitor andreceive messages to be stored and forwarded to the visitee. Undercertain combinations of date-time and visitor indicia, it may directlycouple to an interview panel of the visitee or his intermediary agent orrepresentative. When expected visitors present an optically encodedcredential such as bar codes or QR codes, other policies are triggeredfor physical access or electronic access. The policies may be overriddenby combinations of visitor indicia and key words converted from speech.Non-limiting examples of visitor indicia include but are not limited tovoice biometrics, and facial biometrics of family, uniform hats of swornemergency service personnel, package and shipping waybills of deliveryservices. Stored greetings may include further instructions according tothe visitor indicia presented.

A method embodiment of the invention is for operation of a videodoorbell apparatus and electronic access control system by: determininga date-time when a video doorbell is actuated by a recognizableextemporaneous caller; determining a date-time when a video doorbell isactuated by a scheduled visitor/services provider; or, determining adate-time when a video doorbell is actuated by an unknownsolicitor/stranger, defaulting upon the latter condition to, providingan outgoing message, and from a date-time policy exemplary further stepsincluding but not limited to, recording a message for delayed playback,connecting the interview panel to the video doorbell immediately,relaying the recorded message on schedule or request from the interviewpanel, and transmitting a notification perhaps to a security service, arelative, a neighbor, or a caregiver. Under certain conditions andpolicies, the further method includes receiving a credential presentedto the video doorbell; verifying the credential is valid for thelocation of the video doorbell and the date-time is within a validrange; transmitting a notification; and playing an outgoingmessage/instruction.

An exemplary non-limiting process for determining when a video doorbellis actuated by a scheduled visitor/services provider includes generatinga credential for a visitor/services provider to access a portal;determining a range of date-time for validity of the credential;distributing the credential to a communication device of thevisitor/service provider; transforming the credential and the range ofvalid date-time into a first encrypted code; and distributing the firstencrypted code to the portal.

At the video doorbell, one exemplary method includes receiving the firstencrypted code; receiving the credential from the communication deviceof the visitor/service provider at a date-time, transforming thedate-time of reception and the credential into a second encrypted code,and matching the first encrypted code with the second encrypted code.

Other method steps include, under certain conditions such as date-time,stored instructions, verification of the visitor, recording an imagefrom the video doorbell and actuating a physical access controlapparatus such as opening a door, lift, delivery chute, or gate.

The method of operation also includes: receiving an image from the videodoorbell; determining a category of recognizable extemporaneous caller,selecting among a store of policies for each category and date-time,presenting an outgoing message or greeting, communicatively coupling thevideo doorbell to one of an interview panel and a message storeaccording to the selected policy, and responding to access controlinstructions at the interview panel.

The method for determining when a video doorbell is actuated by arecognizable extemporaneous caller includes: determining a match withbiometric indicia in a store of friends/family/neighbors; determining amatch with image indicia of uniforms and badges of identification; anddetermining a match with stored shipping waybills and product barcodes.

In an embodiment, the process further includes: selecting among a storeof ringtones based on the identity of a category or individual in thestore; communicatively coupling the video doorbell to the interviewpanel of a legal representative; and actuating a physical access controlportal according to the instruction at the interview panel.

In an embodiment, the video doorbell hashes the optically encodedcredential with one or more most significant bits of date-time andattempts to match the resulting hash with a stored transformation of theoptically encoded credential sent to the visitor. Upon success orfailure of matching, doors may be opened or not, messages can bepresented to the visitor, direct communication with a selected interviewpanel can be coupled, or a message may be recorded for immediate ordelayed delivery to the visitee.

Referring now to the exemplary figures and other non-limitingembodiments provided for clarification of aspects of the inventionwithout constraining the breadth of the inventive concepts:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system having a video doorbell(videoorbell) 130, coupled to a visitor filtration apparatus 150. Boththe videoobell and the visitor filtration apparatus enable filteredcommunication with a selected visitee interview panel 190 or to anintermediary interview panel 170 based on date-time, policies, andvisitor indicia.

Exemplary visitors 110 actuate the videoorbell 130 by triggering anaudio or video sensor and presenting an optically encoded credential orbiometric such as a face, voice, or a government agency credential suchas an official warrant card or badge, or a package code, or a serviceprovider identification. A hash or other transformation of date-time andan optically encoded credential is compared with a stored transformationof an optically encoded credential for an expected visitor to trigger apolicy for physical access or electronic access. When no matchingtransformation is found, for example an unexpected visitor, visitorindicia is relayed to a visitor filtration apparatus 150. The visitorfiltration apparatus 150 may present directions or greetings, store andforward messages, and apply policies based on stored identities anddate-time of visit to connect in timeshifted or real-time to anintermediary interview panel 170 or to a visitee interview panel 190.Expected or high priority visitor indicia may be downloaded to thevideoorbell for immediate and direct connection to a selected panel.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a first method 200 of operation for avideoorbell, upon activation, capturing visitor indicia 210 including atleast one of an audio stream of a visitor, a still image of a visitor, avideo stream of a visitor, and a credential encoded in computer-readableoptical imagery; determining date-time and optically encoded credential212; transforming said date-time and optically encoded credential intoekey 214; matching said ekey with a stored transformation of anoptically encoded credential 216; performing upon successful matching, apolicy of physical or electronic access enablement 218; and upon failedmatching, relaying said visitor indicia to a visitor filtering apparatus230; wherein said policy of access enablement includes but is notlimited to actuating electric physical access controls 222 and relaying(receiving, transmitting, transforming, and presenting) responsivecommunication messages in images or audio stream 224.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 of various non-limiting embodiments of methodsfor operation of a visitor filtration apparatus communicatively coupledto a video doorbell and to an interview panel, receiving visitor indicia340, determining a policy based on date-time of a visit 342, determininga policy based on scheduled or unexpected callers 344, determining apolicy based on stored visitor indicia such as faces, badges, packages,service provider identity documentation 346; connecting immediately onthe condition of emergency service visitor indicia 348; selecting amonga plurality of stored outgoing instruction messages 350, transmittingthe selected stored outgoing instruction message 360, recording anincoming message 370, and attempting connection based on date-timepolicy to one of a visitee interview panel and an intermediary interviewpanel such as a legal service provider 380; and upon successfulconnection playing the incoming message and relaying responsivecommunication messages from the intermediary interview panel to thevideoorbell 390.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a first apparatus embodiment of a visitorfiltration apparatus 400 the apparatus comprising: a date-time policycircuit 410; an expected visitor date-time appointment range store 420;an optically encoded credential generation circuit 430; a date-time andoptically encoded credential transformation circuit 440; an opticallyencoded credential distribution circuit 450; an incoming message store460; a visitor indicia store 470; an outgoing greeting store 480; and aconfigurable connection circuit 490 which determines if and when avisitor or message is communicatively coupled to a selected visiteeinterview panel or intermediary interview panel. Non-limiting examplesof an optically encoded credential distribution circuit include a radio,a cellular baseband processor, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol emailserver, a Short Message Service client, and a Portable Document Formatimage fax server.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of embodiments of a visitor filtrationapparatus 500 which includes circuits distributable among displays,videoorbells, custom or programmable chips, and processors performinginstructions encoded and readable from non-transient media, embodimentsof the apparatus comprising at least one of: a date-time policy circuit510; a policy store of when visitors of certain types may be connected512; a policy store of which outgoing greetings are played by visitorindicia 514; a policy store of when incoming messages are relayed to thevisitee interview panel 516; a schedule store of when certain visitorsare expected 518; an incoming message store 530; a voice to textconversion circuit 532; a keyword trigger list 534; a policy overridetrigger responsive to keywords 536; a visitor indicia identificationcircuit 550; a government agency identity indicia store 552; a serviceidentity indicia store 554; a personal visitor biometric indicia store556; a package label indicia decoding circuit 558; an outgoing greetingstore 570; a selectable direction or instruction message store 572; aphysical access control actuation circuit 574; and a configurableconnection circuit 590 which determines if and when a visitor or messageis communicatively coupled to a selected visitee interview panel or toan intermediary interview panel; said circuits and stores mutuallycoupled communicatively with a processor 560. Non-limiting examples ofan intermediary include a trustee, a parent, a conservator, an adultchild, a legal services provider, an attorney, and an executiveassistant. In exemplary embodiments, a keyword trigger list includesaudio files for “Fire”, “Police”, “Help”, “Lost Key”, and “family'ssecret word is . . . ”.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart of a method embodiment illustratesa plurality of processes performed by processors executing in parallel:at a server, waiting for a camera to open a connection 720; on thecondition camera is connected, transmitting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT tocamera 722; waiting PERIOD_B 744; determining whether camera remainsconnected 766; on condition camera has lost connection, returning tostep 720; on condition camera remains connected, returning to step 722;wherein in embodiments, TIME_TO_REBOOT may be expressed as absoluteDate-time, incremental date-time, day of week and time of day, units oftime, calendar, number of connection failures; at a camera, initializinga plurality of parallel processes upon power cycle 710; a first parallelprocess comprising: opening a connection to a server 730; receiving andstoring an updated TIME_TO_REBOOT from the server; 733; determiningwhether camera remains connected 735; on condition camera has lostconnection, return to step 730; on condition camera remains connected,waiting PERIOD_A 737; and returning to step 733; and a second parallelprocess comprising: reading TIME_TO_REBOOT from non-transitory store751; determining whether TIME_TO_REBOOT has been exceeded byCURRENT_STATE 753; on condition that CURRENT_STATE exceedsTIME_TO_REBOOT, returning to step 710; on condition that CURRENT_STATEdoes not exceed TIME_TO_REBOOT, waiting PERIOD_C 755; and returning tostep 751.

Other embodiments of the invention include a system comprising a videodoorbell (videoorbell); an intercommunication portal (IP); and a visitorfiltration apparatus coupling said IP and said videoorbell, whereby avisitee operator may anticipate a visitor with certain date-timeschedule and visitor indicia, store a greeting to be presented by thevideoorbell upon matching said visitor indicia within said date-timeschedule, and relay a message from videoorbell to intercommunicationportal following a policy stored by the visitee operator.

In an embodiment, a policy stored by the visitee operator causesimmediate real-time connection between IP and videoorbell when thevisitor indicia is one of a face of close family members, and a facewith uniform hat of emergency responders. In an embodiment, a policystored by the visitee operator causes presentation of an outgoinggreeting and storing an incoming message when the visitor indicia is oneof face with uniform hat of delivery service, and face with uniform hatof government/utility representative.

In an embodiment, a visitor indicia is a shipment tracking document. Inan embodiment, certain visitor indicia causes one of recording,transforming, storing, and forwarding a message to a visitee interviewpanel, and direct real-time connection to a legal services intermediaryinterview panel.

In an embodiment, said visitor filtration apparatus comprises aprocessor coupled to a policy store, a visitor indicia store, anoutgoing greeting store, an incoming message store, and a connectioncircuit to couple to the videoorbell, the visitee interview panel, thelegal services intermediary interview panel, the greeting store, and themessage store.

Another aspect of the invention is a method to recover from intermittentfailures without producing unnecessary gaps in the surveillance record.A camera is configured with a process to communicate with a server whichregularly resets a rebooting process. The rebooting process completeswhen communication is interrupted beyond a limit. A plurality ofprocesses performed by processors executing in parallel includes at aserver, waiting for a camera to open a connection; when the camera isconnected, transmitting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT to camera; waitingPERIOD_B; determining whether camera remains connected; when camera haslost connection, wait for reconnection and send another TIME_TO_REBOOT;when camera remains connected, repeat waiting; wherein in embodiments,TIME_TO_REBOOT may be expressed as absolute Date-time, incrementaldate-time, day of week and time of day, units of time, calendar, numberof connection failures; at a camera, initializing a plurality ofparallel processes upon power cycle; a first parallel process includes:opening a connection to a server; receiving and storing an updatedTIME_TO_REBOOT from the server; determining whether camera remainsconnected; when camera has lost connection, attempt reconnection andgetting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT; when camera remains connected, waitingPERIOD_A; and then checking for connection; and a second parallelprocess comprising: reading TIME_TO_REBOOT from non-transitory store;determining whether TIME_TO_REBOOT has been exceeded by CURRENT_STATE;when CURRENT_STATE exceeds TIME_TO_REBOOT, rebooting the processes; whenCURRENT_STATE does not exceed TIME_TO_REBOOT, waiting PERIOD_C; andreturning to checking for excessive non-communication.

CONCLUSION

The present invention can be easily distinguished from conventional IPcameras which have a fixed interval reboot cycle. The present inventioncan be easily distinguished from conventional IP cameras which arecoupled to a Power over Ethernet switch requiring additional cost andmanagement. Advantageously, in an exemplary embodiment, whenever ourcloud cannot delay the reboot for 3× in a row it means the camera reallylost cloud connection for 3 hours and reboots automatically. 99% of thetime this solves the issue and cams comes back online. Result: lessstructural downtime, less churn, happier customer. BUT as long as camerastays reachable for the cloud or at least can be reached 1 of the 3× wetry, we always delay the reboot and camera never reboots unnecessarilyso is not causing unnecessary gaps in recordings. The disclosedembodiment is clearly distinguished over the planned maintenance rebootsome manufacturers have in their cameras. And when you have no other wayto reboot your camera (e.g. because you cannot reach it), this might bethe only workable solution.

The present invention can be easily distinguished from simple voice mailor email system for presenting and receiving messages or videotelephony. Stored policies enable time-shifting of physical orelectronic access and limiting date-time ranges for each policy.Credentials may be cancelled unlike physical key lock boxes.

The present invention solves the long sought key exchange problem. Avoicemail/cellphone cannot solve a key exchange problem. It avoidsneeding a physical key (vulnerable to duplication) to be exchanged. Theinvention creates temporary & conditional keys. The invention generatesa new type of key that does not need physical exchange. Non-limitingexamples include a physical optical key (printed QR-code) or digitalimage key (QR-code on mobile phone screen) which is temporary &conditional. The key can be invalidated remotely.

As is known, circuits disclosed above may be embodied by programmablelogic, field programmable gate arrays, mask programmable gate arrays,standard cells, and computing devices limited by methods stored asinstructions in non-transitory media.

Generally a computing devices 600 can be any workstation, desktopcomputer, laptop or notebook computer, server, portable computer, mobiletelephone or other portable telecommunication device, media playingdevice, a gaming system, mobile computing device, or any other typeand/or form of computing, telecommunications or media device that iscapable of communicating on any type and form of network and that hassufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computing device may execute, operate or otherwiseprovide an application, which can be any type and/or form of software,program, or executable instructions, including, without limitation, anytype and/or form of web browser, web-based client, client-serverapplication, an ActiveX control, or a Java applet, or any other typeand/or form of executable instructions capable of executing on acomputing device.

FIG. 6 depicts block diagrams of a computing device 600 useful forpracticing an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 6, eachcomputing device 600 includes a central processing unit 621, and a mainmemory unit 622. A computing device 600 may include a storage device628, an installation device 616, a network interface 618, an I/Ocontroller 623, display devices 624 a-n, a keyboard 626, a pointingdevice 627, such as a mouse or touchscreen, and one or more other I/Odevices 630 a-n such as baseband processors, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Firadios. The storage device 628 may include, without limitation, anoperating system and software.

The central processing unit 621 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 622. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit 621 is provided by amicroprocessor unit, such as: those manufactured under license from ARM;those manufactured under license from Qualcomm; those manufactured byIntel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.; those manufactured byInternational Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y.; or those manufacturedby Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, Calif. The computing device 600may be based on any of these processors, or any other processor capableof operating as described herein.

Main memory unit 622 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 621. The main memory 622 may be based on any availablememory chips capable of operating as described herein.

Furthermore, the computing device 600 may include a network interface618 to interface to a network through a variety of connectionsincluding, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WANlinks (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadbandconnections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet,Ethernet-over-SONET), wireless connections, or some combination of anyor all of the above. In one embodiment, the computing device 600communicates with other computing devices 600 via any type and/or formof gateway or tunneling protocol such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) orTransport Layer Security (TLS). The network interface 118 may comprise abuilt-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card,card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter,modem or any other device suitable for interfacing the computing device600 to any type of network capable of communication and performing theoperations described herein.

A computing device 600 of the sort depicted in FIG. 6 typically operatesunder the control of operating systems, which control scheduling oftasks and access to system resources.

In some embodiments, the computing device 600 may have differentprocessors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with thedevice. In other embodiments, the computing device 600 is a mobiledevice, such as a JAVA-enabled cellular telephone or personal digitalassistant (PDA).

In some embodiments, the computing device 600 comprises a combination ofdevices, such as a mobile phone combined with a digital audio player orportable media player.

As is known, circuits include gate arrays, programmable logic, andprocessors executing instructions stored in non-transitory media providemeans for scheduling, cancelling, transmitting, editing, entering textand data, displaying and receiving selections among displayed indicia,and transforming stored files into displayable images and receiving fromkeyboards, touchpads, touchscreens, pointing devices, and keyboards,indications of acceptance, rejection, or selection.

It should be understood that the systems described above may providemultiple ones of any or each of those components and these componentsmay be provided on either a standalone machine or, in some embodiments,on multiple machines in a distributed system. The phrases in oneembodiment', in another embodiment', and the like, generally mean theparticular feature, structure, step, or characteristic following thephrase is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosureand may be included in more than one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. However, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the sameembodiment.

The systems and methods described above may be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. The techniques described above may be implemented in one ormore computer programs executing on a programmable computer including aprocessor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including, forexample, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. Program code maybe applied to input entered using the input device to perform thefunctions described and to generate output. The output may be providedto one or more output devices.

Each computer program within the scope of the claims below may beimplemented in any programming language, such as assembly language,machine language, a high-level procedural programming language, or anobject-oriented programming language. The programming language may, forexample, be PHP, PROLOG, PERL, C, C++, C#, JAVA, or any compiled orinterpreted programming language.

Each such computer program may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device forexecution by a computer processor. Method steps of the invention may beperformed by a computer processor executing a program tangibly embodiedon a computer-readable medium to perform functions of the invention byoperating on input and generating output. Suitable processors include,by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors.Generally, the processor receives instructions and data from a read-onlymemory and/or a random access memory. Storage devices suitable fortangibly embodying computer program instructions include, for example,all forms of computer-readable devices, firmware, programmable logic,hardware (e.g., integrated circuit chip, electronic devices, acomputer-readable non-volatile storage unit, non-volatile memory, suchas semiconductor memory devices, including EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and nanostructured optical data stores.Any of the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,specially-designed ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) orFPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). A computer can generally alsoreceive programs and data from a storage medium such as an internal disk(not shown) or a removable disk. These elements will also be found in aconventional desktop or workstation computer as well as other computerssuitable for executing computer programs implementing the methodsdescribed herein, which may be used in conjunction with any digitalprint engine or marking engine, display monitor, or other raster outputdevice capable of producing color or gray scale pixels on paper, film,display screen, or other output medium.

Having described certain embodiments of methods and systems for videosurveillance, it will now become apparent to one of skill in the artthat other embodiments incorporating the concepts of the disclosure maybe used. Therefore, the disclosure should not be limited to certainembodiments, but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scopeof the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method at a camera, comprising initializing a pluralityof parallel processes upon power cycle; a first parallel processcomprising: opening a connection to a server; receiving and storing afirst updated TIME_TO_REBOOT from the server; determining whether cameraremains connected; on condition camera has lost connection, resuming thefirst parallel process; on condition camera remains connected, waiting afirst period; and receiving and storing a second updated TIME_TO_REBOOT;and a second parallel process comprising: reading TIME_TO_REBOOT fromnon-transitory store; determining whether TIME_TO_REBOOT has beenexceeded by CURRENT_STATE; on condition that CURRENT_STATE exceedsTIME_TO_REBOOT, reinitializing a plurality of parallel process; oncondition that CURRENT_STATE does not exceed TIME_TO_REBOOT, waiting asecond period; and resuming the second parallel process.
 2. A method ata server communicatively coupled to the camera of claim 1, the thirdparallel process comprising: waiting for at least one first camera toopen a connection; on the condition a first camera is connected,transmitting updated TIME_TO_REBOOT to said first camera; waiting athird period; determining whether said first camera remains connected;on condition said first camera has lost connection, resume waiting forsaid first camera to open a connection; on condition said first cameraremains connected, resume waiting a third period.
 3. The method of claim2 wherein TIME_TO_REBOOT is expressed as absolute Date-time.
 4. Themethod of claim 2 wherein TIME_TO_REBOOT is expressed as incrementaldate-time.
 5. The method of claim 2 wherein TIME_TO_REBOOT is expressedas day of week and time of day.
 6. The method of claim 2 whereinTIME_TO_REBOOT is expressed as units of time.
 7. The method of claim 2wherein TIME_TO_REBOOT is expressed as calendar.
 8. The method of claim2 wherein TIME_TO_REBOOT is expressed as number of connection failures.9. The method of claim 1 wherein CURRENT_STATE is one of datetime of thesystem, calendar date, count of connection failures, time since lastreboot, time of last connection, and local wall clock time.
 10. A methodfor operation of a camera apparatus and electronic access control systemcomprising processes: at a server, waiting for a camera to open anapplication programming interface (API), and when said camera has openedsaid API, transmitting an updated value for TIME_TO_REBOOT, andtransmitting an updated TIME_TO_API, to said camera; and at a camera,upon initialization, reading from non-transitory media a value forTIME_TO_REBOOT and TIME_TO_API; continuously counting down fromTIME_TO_API and upon expiration, opening said application programminginterface to said server; determining that said API has connected tosaid server, and on the condition that said API has succeeded, receivingand storing at least one updated value for TIME_TO_REBOOT andTIME_TO_API; and on the condition that said API has failed to connect tosaid server, counting down from TIME_TO_REBOOT and upon expiration,reinitializing the process at the camera.
 11. A method of operation fora video doorbell comprising an IP camera (Videoorbell) apparatuscomprising the processes: rebooting the processor at expiration of afirst timer; opening a communication application programming interfaceat expiration of a second timer; upon successful connection to a serverby the application programming interface, receiving and executing acommand to reset at least one of first and second timer; capturing anaudio-video stream; transforming date-time of capture and an opticallyencoded credential (OEC) within said audio-video stream into a hash;matching a stored transformation of an OEC with said hash; andperforming an access policy according to the condition of one of successof said matching, and failure of said matching.
 12. A video doorbellapparatus comprises: an interrupt circuit to trigger a processor rebootwhen a TIME_TO_REBOOT timer expires, and to trigger opening acommunication channel to a server for an application programminginterface when a TIME_TO_API expires; a non-transitory store for adefault values of TIME_TO_REBOOT and TIME_TO_API; a store for at leastone transformed optically encoded credential; a date-time circuit; anaudio-video capture device; a processor; and at least one communicationcircuit communicatively coupled to a visitor filtration apparatus.
 13. Amethod of operation for a visitor filtration apparatus comprising theprocesses: transmitting updated values for at least one ofTIME_TO_REBOOT and TIME_TO_API, upon connection to an applicationprogramming interface opened by a video doorbell wherein said valuescause an interrupt circuit to initiate processes upon expiration;receiving from a visitee interface panel a date-time range and identityfor an expected visitor; generating an optically encoded credential(OEC) for the expected visitor; transmitting said OEC and date-timerange to the expected visitor; storing a transformed OEC and date-timerange into a video doorbell; storing visitor indicia and access policiesfor particular visitors and classes of visitors; storing and relayingincoming messages to a visitee interface panel according to a policy;interconnecting a visitee interface panel to a video doorbell accordingto a policy; receiving visitor indicia from a video doorbell; andperforming an access policy upon matching visitor indicia with a one ofvisitor indicia in a store.